Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Chicken Parmesan is my comfort food. I love Italian food, and this is one of my favorite dishes. It translates very nicely to a crockpot, and gives the chef the opportunity to get out of the kitchen, and the house.

The Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use gluten free bead crumbs)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 beaten egg

sliced mozzarella cheese

1 (26-ounce bottle) favorite jarred marinara sauce

The Directions:

--spread the 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert

--whip the egg with a fork in a separate bowl

--mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the parmesan cheese in another separate dish

--dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings

--place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock

--layer 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese on top

--cover with entire jar of marinara sauce

--close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. If your chicken is still frozen, it will take longer.

yay for your crockpot being out and about!no. I haven't made it with eggplant, but am going to try one of these days. I love eggplant.if you try it before I do, will you let me know how it comes out?-steph

I have a nine month old little boy and I just started watching a 3 month old little boy so my hands are full! I heard about you on RR and I decided to try this recipe! It looks delicious! Thanks for your crockpot idea! I love it!

omg. this. was. incredible. I breaded the chicken before I went to work then just had my hubby toss everything together in the crockpot when he came home for lunch. the house smelled fantastic when I got home with the kids! ummmm, tasted just as good as it looked! The only thing was that I wish I had thought a head on how to combine this with the baked ziti recipie so I didn't even have to cook the pasta. I made the cheesecake today & it's in the fridge chilling. It's my hubbies fave dessert so I will leave a comment on that later tonight!! btw, here's my email so i can win a crockpot!! bmh_127@yahoo.com

I am so thankful for your time spent on this New Years Resolution! This is my second recipe from your blog (the first was the Taco soup, DELICIOUS!) and I have my menu planned straight from your blog. I HATE cooking, but I love crockpotting because I can throw it in and leave it. The crockpot is always on the counter now :) Thanks again!!!

hi crockpotlady! MAD PROPS to you for this... I found your blog thru another site, and have played on it for 2 days now... I LOVE it! esp since you have given me so many wonderful GF recipes (newly dx with celiac's)...

Did you make your own bread crumbs? or can you buy GF crumbs already, well, crumbed?

I have made CP chicken Parm many times, but slightly different from you. I dredge the chicken in skim milk, then bread crumbs, and then fry in a scant tablespoon of oil just long enough to set the color on the crumbs. then spray the crock w/ PAM, add a ladle of sauce, the chicken, and always more sauce before another layer of cx. I cook it on low for ? 6 hr? and then add shredded mozzi abt 15 min b4 I serve :)

I made this on a whim before work this morning. I used veal instead of chicken. It cooked for about 6 hours and it turned out great! Iwas surprised that it was just as good as baking it in the oven! Thanks!

Hi there. First time checking out your site...I saw the article about crockpotting in the LA times. I tried this recipe today on my kids and they are currently gobbling it up and loving it! So yummy and super easy. I am going to make many more recipes from your site. Thank you! I was currently in a cooking slump, so going back to the crockpot really helps. Tomorrow I'm going to try the pork butt thing on kaiser rolls. Will let you know how it goes with the kiddos.

I tried this dish and failed miserably! The cheese was black and rubber and gross. The dish had a smoky flavor to it. Can someone tell me whay I may have done wrong? I would really love to have this as a weekly recipe!

I made this last week. PERFECT!! I didn't have marinara or spaghetti sauce so I just used a can of italian diced tomatoes. Worked perfect. I didn't add the cheese as directed. After the dish was done, I put the cheese on top and put the lid on/crock off. It melted just beautifully and didn't get rubbery. I'm loving this place :)

Made this tonight and it turned out awesome. I added a 1/2 cup of white wine like one comment suggested and it was just fantastic. I'm going to go through the rest of your recipes and pick out some other ones now.

Thank you!!! I made this for Sunday lunch--we usually have a challenge to rush home from church and get a meal before the kids have to go to work. We walked in and the house smelled like I'd labored all morning preparing a meal. I substituted the Italian stewed tomatoes for the marinara like someone else suggested and omitted the cheese until the end and let it steam-melt in the crock pot. Topped it off with a sprinkling of fresh chopped basil. I don't think we have leftovers. Again, thank you!!!

I am so glad I found your site!! Being gluten free has become so much easier!! This is a GREAT recipe - my husband even had seconds which says alot. I did change it a little by adding half marinara and half alfredo sauce and it was delicious!!

I haven't made anything in my crockpot in several years . It was because I didn't know how to use it properly and that it never came out as I thought it would. Your help has given me a new freedom! I used this recipe and it came out Exactly as pictured and it was juicy and extremely delicious. I now am enthused and everbody on the Christmas List is getting your book , yes even the men. :)Thanks again,Elise

I just discovered your blog and have been spending an ABSURD amount of time looking back at all the recipes. I got a new slow cooker for Christmas so am trying to vary between it (8 qt) and my old 3 qt. I made this tonight and my family loved it! Even the very picky 20 month old didn't recognize the chicken mixed in with sauce and noodles and actually got some protein! I plan to visit often and try numerous recipes! Thanks!

I made this today with my four year old. She could not stop eating this at dinner:)I am so glad I stumbled onto your blog, I have been trying to eat out of a crock everyday to help break down the proteins in my foods for health reasons. I am very excited to try the GF bread too:) Thanks for doing what you do!:)

We're in the midst of a kitchen renovation, so this yummy (and simple) recipe was a bit hit! My husband commented that the chicken was so much juicier and more flavorful than the pan-fried/baked style we usually make. We loved it. Thanks!

Just wanted to give my two cents ... Tried this recipe today (Just recently bought your cookbook :) yay) ... I used a 5qt rather than a 4qt and cooked on high for 4 hrs ... Wow ... It was SO good ... my husband asked if I would make it again next week. :)

Made your chicken parmesan recipe tonight, and it was terrific :) Probably the best part was the fact it was so easy, I convinced my twenty-something brother who refuses to cook to help with it, and he agreed that even he could make it! Thanks for the keeper!

I made this for the family for dinner tonight and oh my gosh was it delish! My picky two year old even cleared her plate clean. SCRUMPTIOUS! I didn't have marinara so I used spaghetti sauce but the fresh Parmesan was the star of the show. :)

What a crowd pleaser! Thanks for a fantastic meal. This recipe is not only fast and easy to make, it is so delicious. This is now a staple in our household, I plan on making this often. I've already passed it on to a few friends since it's always nice to share good recipes. Enjoy!

I made this for supper. I had the chicken parmesan in one crockpot and green beans in the other. I cooked semolina bowtie pasta from Trader Joes. Also fixed a Baby Romaine Lettuce salad with fresh pear, reduced fat fetta, walnut pieces and fat free Balsamic Vinaigrette from Trader Joes. It was delicious. The chicken was so tender and I had covered it with Mama DiSalvo's sauce. That is a local restaurant in the Dayton, OH area and she sells the sauce at our local Krogers. Great for a busy day but also would be wonderful to serve to company.

Like a couple of other peoples posts I read... I stumbled upon this site. actualy @ the time I did I had JUST put chicken in the crockpot with sauce. I immediately took it back out,did exactly what your recipe said and 3 1/2hrs later.... VWALAAA a great meal:)The only change that I made was that I had toasted a few hamburger rolls in olive oil and had chix-parm sandwichs. Ty for a gr8 recipe

I made this the other night, and while it was delicious - the chicken was fall-apart tender, the flavor was great -- I had a problem with the cheese separating. Maybe I used too much? Maybe it was the part-skim? Maybe I cooked it too long? I did this with 4 chicken breasts in a 4qt Crock Pot (gosh, it cooks way too hot). And I think I was on the outside of the time. BUT! It was delish! And I will totally make this again - might just put the cheese on top at the last half hour to melt it.

I made this last night for my husband & 2 year old daughter - it was AWESOME!! I didn't use sliced mozzarella, I used shredded instead (just put a mound of shredded cheese over each piece of chicken). I will definitely be making this again!! Thank you!

I made this a few weeks ago, and it was excellent! Making it again for tonight, and I think I'm going to add a bit of flour to the dredge to make it a little more substantial...while I thought the original bread crumb/cheese mixture was delish, there was hardly any of it stuck to the chicken by the time I took it out!

I made this last night, as promised. It turned out beautifully! I was worried about time, so I made one change, that I don't think was needed: After breading, I stuck it in a (Pam-sprayed) baking dish, in a cold oven, and turned it to 400 degrees. Five minutes after it reached 400, I took it out and put it in the crockpot.Meanwhile, I BEGAN by drizzling the olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot, set to HIGH, to heat the oil. When I took it out of the oven, I put all the chicken pieces over the oil, added the cheese, waiting about an hour, then added the sauce. We served over pennette (small penne pasta). If we'd had any frozen, homemade spaghetti sauce, we would have used it, as it did not make much sauce, but it wasn't supposed to, either. All in all, we LOVED this so much, that my picky daughter asked me to make it again -- and soon! (Did I mention that she won't even eat regular spaghetti!)

I was very skeptical about this recipe - how could breaded chicken turn out well in the crockpot? Well, I'm a believer! It was delicious. I used two chicken breasts, but butterflied them as I thought that this would matter. I omitted the pepper and salt, used Italian style breadcrumbs, free poured the oil (too much I think), and used a whole bag of shredded cheese (2 cups). Turned out great. The chicken nearly fell apart on my dish, but it still had the traditional chicken parmesan flavor. Sooo good - I will make this again!

This recipe is so wonderful!!!! Thank your for creating a blog for busy working Moms like me!!! I work from home, so often times people think I have all the time in the world to cook. I don't have much time, but your recipes taste as though I have been in the kitchen for hours! Thank you!!!!

Question: We are unable to have any type of tomato sauce/marinara, etc... and my son has some texture issues with ALL sauces, SO what could we suggest instead of pouring sauce in there? I don't want it to be completely dry, but would it be totally unhealthy to use melted butter or something just for the moisture? Or should I just use water?! I don't know! I'm not a big cooker, but I'm trying!!! lol

Hi Kelly,Ok. I would season the meat, and spray your slow cooker with cooking spray, or rub olive oil into it. Then I'd put the chicken down with the cheese and add about 3/4 of a cup of chicken broth. It won't taste like chicken parmesan, but it'll taste like nicely seasoned chicken with melted cheese. :-)

This recipe was great!! It was super easy to make and it tasted delicious!!! It also made my apartment smell really good while it was cooking! I had cheesy garlic bread (along with some of the extra marinara sauce for dipping! yum!) and steamed veggies with mine. It made a perfect meal! I only cook for 1, so when I made this I was expecting to eat from it a few times. I said to myself that this recipe better be good enough for me to want to eat the same thing again! :-) And it was! I just finished eating it a little while ago and I cannot wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!